The Watchman - Zion

Fanny Adele Watson

Adele Watson was a close friend of poet - artist Kahlil Gibran and responded to symbolism and the power of nature. Her trip to Zion National Park in 1930 was transformative for her work. Watson did a series of dramatic mountainscapes in the Four Corners section of the US (the intersection of Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico). There are a number of National Parks in this area: Zion, Bryce, Arches, Mesa Verde, and the Grand Canyon.

This large black and white lithograph is of a mountain in Southern Utah, called "The Watchman." The image is almost anthropomorphic, many viewers search her images for figures interwoven in the composition.

Summit.org comments:"'The Watchman' is one of Zion National Parks most recognized features. It sits prominently above the South Entrance Park Headquarters, the Watchman Campground and the town of Springdale, Utah. As part of a jagged ridge line that runs on the East side of the Zion Valley, it guards the southern portion of this ridge. The most famous and recognizable shot of this giant rock buttress is usually taken from the north near the Watchman Campground.